Ancient Levee Discovered at the Portsmouth, Ohio Earthworks

Ancient Levee Discovered at the Portsmouth, Ohio Earthworks

The Yellow Line is where the ancient levee was diagrammed by the Ohio Power Company

Portsmouth Daily Times, October 2, 1939
Sixth St. Believed, Part of Levee by Mound Builders
   The Ohio Power Co.s new office building at Sixth and Washington streets will sit on top of a flood levee built years ago by the Mound Builders.
   Samples of the soil sent to Columbia University for testing puzzled the professors and another sample was requested.  The professors said that the sod appeared to be "doped" and was unlike sod usually found in that section of the country.
Soil Imported
   Further examination revealed the sod was brought here by the Mound builders and was used to build a levee along Sixth Street from the Scioto river bank east..  The levee apparently followed a line east from Sixth street to Galia and Waller streets and ran northeast to Offnere street hill.
   The lines in the soil indicated that more soil was added each year. In one place a leaf mold about two feet thick was found. It has not been determined of the required years to build the levee, or was soil added as the flood stage of the river increased.
Believed Mixed with Clay
   Historian believe that Mound Builders found a particular soil elsewhere that proved superior for their purposes than the clay found around here.  It is believed the imported soil was mixed with clay to build the levee.

Historian